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A team of environmental scientists and physical limnologists has published a fascinating study that may provide a scientific explanation for one of the most famous stories in the Bible: Jesus’ miraculous “multiplication” of fish. This research investigates natural events that may have created an abundance of fish in <keyword id="23812630" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lake-kinneret" source="keywords">Lake Kinneret</keyword>, also known as the Sea of Galilee, without any need for divine intervention.<br /><h2>The story behind the miracle</h2>The New Testament recounts two instances where Jesus multiplied a small amount of food to feed the hungry. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells Simon Peter to cast his nets in the Sea of Galilee, leading to an overwhelming catch of fish. In the Gospel of John, Jesus supposedly turned a few loaves of bread and a handful of fish into a meal for thousands of followers. For nearly two millennia, Christians have interpreted these events as miracles, showcasing Jesus’ divine power. But could there have been a natural phenomenon behind these "miraculous" catches?<br /><br />The new study doesn’t aim to discredit these ancient accounts but rather to explore what might have been happening in the lake at the time. Using a range of modern scientific techniques, the research team examined Lake Kinneret’s unique conditions to see if there might be another reason for these “miraculous” catches of fish.<br /><h2>What happens in Lake Kinneret</h2>The researchers found that Lake Kinneret is naturally stratified, with two distinct layers of water: a warmer, oxygen-rich upper layer, where most fish reside, and a colder, oxygen-poor lower layer. Normally, these two layers remain separate, but every once in a while, a unique combination of environmental conditions causes them to mix. This phenomenon, known as “thermal stratification,” results in a sudden and dangerous depletion of oxygen throughout the lake, leaving fish unable to breathe at any level of the water.<br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114938626" title="&amp;quot;Sugar early in life is the new tobacco&amp;quot;: Scientists urge food companies to reformulate baby foods and tax sugary options" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>When this mixing happens, the fish die off en masse and float to the surface. To someone on the shore, this could look like an abundance of fish suddenly appearing, ready for easy collection. Imagine standing by the lake as hundreds or even thousands of fish rise to the surface — the scene could easily inspire stories of miraculous bounty.<br /><h2>A coincidence or a miracle?</h2>To investigate the phenomenon, the research team deployed temperature sensors, oxygen metres, and even tested wind speed and direction in the lake. These instruments confirmed that Lake Kinneret experiences regular die-offs of fish due to stratification, followed by these mass appearances of fish near the surface. According to their findings, similar environmental conditions existed around the time of Jesus, making it possible that such a die-off event occurred then, too.<br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114885489" title="A 14-year-old took home $10,000 for his award-winning investigation into train derailments. Here&amp;#39;s what he found." mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The team’s research also indicated that strong winds across the lake could drive oxygen-poor waters to the surface, killing off fish in greater numbers. They observed that specific types of fish in Lake Kinneret are especially prone to this kind of die-off and tend to end up along the shore, where they could be easily collected by a hungry populace.<br /><br />While the study’s findings don’t rule out the possibility of miracles, they suggest that at least some of the stories of miraculous catches might be explained by natural processes. If Jesus and his disciples happened to be fishing in Lake Kinneret during one of these die-offs, the sudden appearance of fish may have seemed miraculous.<br /><br />From a modern perspective, it’s a reminder that ancient people often attributed unusual natural events to divine intervention simply because they lacked the scientific knowledge we have today. Rather than taking away from the significance of these stories, the scientific findings highlight the powerful ways in which natural events can intersect with human experience, shaping beliefs and narratives that endure through millennia.<br /><br />The findings of this research have been published in <em>Water Resources Research</em> and can be accessed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2024WR037894">here</a>.<br />

How did Jesus 'multiply' his fish? A new study provides an answer that is more science than miracle

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The foundations of an ancient <keyword id="35980" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="mosque">mosque</keyword> have been unearthed in <keyword id="6355882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="israel">Israel</keyword>.</li><li>It was built around a generation after the Prophet Mohammed, making it one of the oldest.</li><li>Archaeologists say its building phases indicate peaceful coexistence between religions at the time.</li></ul><p>The remains of an ancient mosque have been unearthed in Israel in a find that archaeologists say indicates historically  harmonious relations between Muslims, Christians, Jews and Samaritans.</p><p>The mosque foundations date back to a generation after the life of the Prophet Mohammed, putting them among some of the oldest ever found, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-jerusalem-coronavirus-pandemic-archaeology-76bdaf039055eee55d8bb77fa581cdb2">the Associated Press (AP) reported</a>. </p><p>Dr Katia Cytryn-Silverman, a specialist with the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, oversees the <a href="http://tiberias.huji.ac.il/">dig site in the city of Tiberias</a>, just south of the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret, or Kinnereth. </p><p>Scholars previously thought the area centered around an old marketplace, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-one-of-the-world-oldest-mosques-found-in-tiberias-israel-1.9471405?fbclid=IwAR0tg5EKiNYT7_01hL73VRZsOur8-Yx-cYyjyTluMi-knFw5BzWCh4_GI3s">according to Haaretz</a>. But investigation further, Cytryn-Silverman's team found it to be the remains of an 8th-century mosque - and then, below that, an even older one dating back to the 7th century, the newspaper reported.</p><p>Researchers figured out the time in which the mosque was in use by examining detritus like coins and pottery fragments on-site, the newspaper reported. </p><p>Mohammed died in 632 AD, putting him within a generation's reach of the site's earliest remains. Other, similarly-aged ancient mosques - such as the Prophet's Mosque in Medina or the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem - are in present-day use and cannot be excavated for archeological study.</p><div type="image" title="al-aqsa mosque, jerusalem" height="1000" width="2000" msid="80604898" hostid="261"></div><p>The Tiberias mosque was built during a time when the Islamic empire was spreading across the Levant and Mesopotamia - roughly akin to what is today referred to as the Middle East.  </p><p>The development phases of the ruins suggest that - contrary to what some scholars previously thought - the Muslim rulers of the area had not been in a hurry to stamp their authority over the other religious groups at the time, Cytryn-Silverman told the AP.</p><p>The older structure was smaller and "more humble," Cytryn-Silverman told the AP, before being replaced by a grander mosque around 50 years later. </p><p>"You see that the beginning of the Islamic rule here respected very much the population that was the main population of the city: Christians, Jews, Samaritans," Cytryn-Silverman told the AP.</p><p>"They were not in a hurry to make their presence expressed into buildings," she added. "They were not destroying others' houses of prayers, but they were actually fitting themselves into the societies that they now were the leaders of."</p><p>She also told Haaretz: "This was an area that was multireligious and a very moving symbol of regional coexistence."</p><p>The find also helps archeologists figure out when early Muslims began building houses of worship to face Mecca, the AP reported. </p>

One of the earliest mosques has been unearthed beside the Sea of Galilee and indicates Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in harmony

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How did Jesus 'multiply' his fish? A new study provides an answer that is more science than miracle

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One of the earliest mosques has been unearthed beside the Sea of Galilee and indicates Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in harmony

Mia Jankowicz

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